For the Better
by Wolf Jade
Summary: [Oneshot] Sydney leaves the CIA and makes one of the biggest desicions ever when it comes to who her enemy really is...[SydSark]


**Note:** The timeline in this story is a bit messed up. Syd was never kidnapped by the Covenent, Allison never killed Francie, Will was never in witness protection...but Lauren is in the story as a spy/traitor and Vaughn's wife. Please review at the end.

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****For the Better**

She stood in the doorway of the briefing room and looked out over the rotunda, searching. She wasn't searching for someone or something, just searching. It wasn't a person, a face, or a memory, just what was there in her mind. Thoughts, equations. What she would loose by doing this, what she would gain by doing this.

She let a smile curl it's way unto her face and she took the first step towards her new life. She took that step out of the doorway and the steps after that became easier. She greeted and spoke to everyone like it was a normal day, in a sense it was. To them anyway. To her it was the beginning of a new day. A better day. She spoke to the people she worked with everyday and didn't let anything bother her. She never did.

When it came time for her to leave she emailed her last report to Kendall and printed two letters. One was folded neatly and then placed into an envelope with 'Bristow' written on the front. Money was placed inside, enough to cover everything she ever owed him. The other was placed in an official envelope with Kendall written on the front. She left that one on her desk in plane sight. Then she grabbed her bag and her coat and stood up looking at her desk. It was all over. No longer would she have to sit there longing and waiting for today to arrive.

She smiled at her friends and at her fellow agents as she walked over to her father's office and slipped the envelope under the door. Then without looking back she left the rotunda and walked past security to the open space. She breathed in the air and was once again free, she hadn't felt this way since the ending of SD-6. But now she was free from it all. No more running day in and day out. There would still be running, but not in the sense of being an agent. There were only two more tasks left before she could be free fully. When she arrived at home she walked in and let her coat and bag fall onto the floor.

"Francie?"

"In here Syd," Came the response from the kitchen.

She took a deep breath and walked calmly into the kitchen. Francie was cooking at the stove, the lid of the pot in one hand, a wooden spoon in the other. She stood there not quite knowing how to begin. A step was taken towards Francie and she reached past her friend and turned of the stove.

"We need to talk."

Francie turned around to face her, "What's wrong Syd?"

"I've been lying to you."

"Syd?"

"I don't work at a bank. I used to, but then I changed jobs when all those crazy trips started."

"What are you talking about Syd?"

She took a deep calming breath, "Francie, I work for the CIA."

Francie laughed, "Come on Syd stop joking around."

"Francie, I'm not joking. All those times I've come home with bruises and cuts that weren't there when I left, how did you think I got them? Do you really think I would get into so many car accidents or bar fights?"

"Syd…"

"Francie, listen to me, I stopped working at the bank years ago. It was a front for an enemy agency SD-6. I was committing treason against the USA without knowing it. I became a double agent and Vaughn…Michael, the man I told you about that I loved, well he was my handler. He's a CIA agent."

"Oh my god Syd, you really aren't joking?"

"No I'm not. Will already knows, he's known since he got caught doing drugs. He got too close to SD-6 and we had to stop him and created this story."

"If you hadn't stopped him…"

"He would have been killed just like Danny."

"What does Danny have to do with this?"

"I told him about SD-6 and he called to tell me he understood and Sloane had him killed. That was when I went to the CIA and found out the truth and became a double-agent."

Francie rubbed her forehead, "So I'm guessing the reason you and Will kept all this from me is because if I found out I would have been killed," She nodded, "Sydney," Francie whispered and hugged her.

Later that night around one am Sydney got out of bed and went over to her bag lying by the door. She pulled a file out and looked at the pictures inside. Lauren standing with Sark, Lauren kissing Sark, Lauren speaking with members of the Covenant, Lauren shooting at Vaughn while in disguise, pictures of Lauren and Sark together in bed, both naked. She smiled evilly when she though of how much Sark had helped her. Not only had he been acting with Lauren, but he had been taking all these pictures, even though sometimes it meant hiring someone to take the pictures. She placed the file back into the bag and grabbed a gun from under her bed.

Her plan: To kill Lauren Reed. Quick and easy. She was doing this for Vaughn. He deserves to love someone who isn't using him, to love someone who isn't a spy. Sydney changed into dark clothes and grabbed a blond wig to wear. She left the house with everything she held dear and placed it all in the back of her car. A suitcase, a duffel bag, and a backpack. She left the house under the cover of darkness and never looked back.

Awhile later she was standing outside of a ritzy hotel in downtown LA. Her contact had told her she would be here. And here she was. Lauren had just walked into the hotel moments before clad in black jeans, a red tank top, black boots, and an auburn wig. For someone who supposedly was a liaison between the CIA and the NSA she knew how to dress so she wasn't spotted by those who know her. But it wasn't good enough. To Sydney she stuck out look a sore thumb. She followed Lauren into the building and entered the elevator behind her relying on her disguise to hide her. She was waiting for them to get to the hotel room before she did anything. She could wait, she had all the time in the world. The doors opened onto a beautifully carpeted hallway, but she barely noticed it as she followed Lauren to the very end of the lush hall. As soon as Lauren had the door open Sydney slipped in after her and hid in the already open closet. Sark moved into sight and he winked at Lauren as he pushed her against the door, closing it. After awhile, when the sounds had ceased, Sydney slipped out of the closet and nodded to Sark who was leaving. She walked over to the bed and pointed the gun at Lauren who woke up.

"Say good-bye Agent Reed," She hissed and pulled the trigger two times. "Whore," She whispered as she put the file down on the desk, making sure to open it. "Good-bye."

She knew the minute she left the hotel room after cleaning up some stuff Sark had left behind that he was gone. With only a shrug she threw away the gun and other things she had gathered into one of the bins the cleaning ladies had around. As she walked towards the elevator she pulled the gloves off of her hands and stuffed them into a pocket. Her wing was thrown into another bin and she put on a short brunette wig with green streaks in it. She reversed her coat so that it was leather and she used the sash to tie it around her waist. Her eyes and most of her face were hidden behind the 'movie-star' sunglasses she slipped on before getting into the elevator. She had learned a lot over the years when it came to disguises.

When she left the hotel police cars were already showing up. She didn't have much time until they were searching for the killer. Assassin, she liked the name of that. She was an assassin even with one kill, she was an assassin. She had killed before, but this was the job of an assassin not a field agent. She smiled at a handsome police officer and he tipped his hat to her as she passed. Perfect, said the smile she wore and sashayed her way past the police officers smiling and nodding to them as she passed. Then when she turned the corner onto the next street she let the smile drop and started to walk a little fast towards the car parked at the end of the street. Her flight leaves in two hours from a small airfield just outside of LA. Her contact and lover would wait for her there.

She took a deep breath and paid the taxi driver after getting out of the car. She had ditched her car where she left it near the hotel. It was far enough away that no one would think she had been there but close enough for her to get to the hotel on time. The airplane was waiting at the beginning of the runway and she walked towards it carrying her duffel bag and slinging her backpack up to her shoulder. Her suitcase she wheeled behind her. Before she even got to the plane, though, the pilot came down the stairs to help her with her bags. She gladly gave him all but the backpack and went up the stairs after him, some of her sweet and kind personality showing as she made sure he didn't drop the bags or fall over because of the weight. Once they were inside, the door was shut behind her and she went into the cabin where her 'lover' and contact was supposed to be but wasn't. She walked in a few steps and turned around to face the cockpit. Arms circled her waist and she smiled as the man hugged her close to him.

"Love, you're late."

"Fuck you Sark," she said none too gently.

"Gladly," He replied hoarsely and kissed her neck. "You did a good job."

She turned in his arms, "You realized we just added one more count of murder to your rap sheet?"

"Really? Well I seem to remember that I'm not on the security cameras, and at the time of her murder I was in a bank in Switzerland."

"You think you're so smart."

"I am Sydney, you should know that by now."

She sighed, "I still have no idea why I love you so much when you're such an arrogant bastard."

"Neither do I love, neither do I."

"So," She whispered into his chest, "Where are we headed?"

"I was thinking Russia for a few days and then we would go to Ireland and relax while I take care of a few things."

"Can I help?" she pouted cutely and he laughed.

He led them over to a couch, "Of course you can, wouldn't have it any other way. I love you Sydney."

"I love you too Julian."


End file.
